Mazda kinda sucked at tail lights in the mid-00s

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 01/31/2017 at 11:53 • Filed to: None

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Gaudy-ass altezza things. Welcome to the 90s, now in 2007!

Whatever the fuck these awful things are supposed to be

CIRCLES CIRCLES CIRCLES AND CHROOOOME

“we have all this fancy injection molding to make any shape we chose and we went with circles inside of a housing that shows what we *could* have done” Seriously if the lights were *actually* the color of that housing they’d look rather nice. A bit plain, maybe, but not as offensive as that trypophobia-inducing nonsense.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/31/2017 at 12:04

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The RX-8 had circles and triangles everywhere inside too. It was a design motif to never let you forget that your apex seals were toast and the O was for Oil.

Chariotoflove > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 01/31/2017 at 12:07

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Hey! I resemble that remark!

Actually, my apex seals are fine at 12 years and going strong!

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/31/2017 at 12:07

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2007 was an improvement over 2006, case in point: (2006 on left 2007 on right)

Mazda-Generations

Chariotoflove > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/31/2017 at 12:08

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The big problem I have with my tail lights is not the shape but the fact that their seals wore out and I got condensation inside them in the rain. Had to pay way too much to have them replaced.

Nerd-Vol > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 01/31/2017 at 12:18

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I don’t think those red lights are OEM. Here is a brochure from 2009:

http://www.auto-brochures.com/makes/Mazda/3/Mazda_US%203_2009.pdf

Kanaric > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/31/2017 at 12:24

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IMO Mazda had among the best car designs of that era, as well as one of the best lineups. Then the Mazda 3 update happened and it went down the tubes.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Kanaric 01/31/2017 at 12:28

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Oh yeah, the cars were pretty great, just the tail lights were all overly gaudy and chrome disasters.

gawdzillla > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/31/2017 at 12:49

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I still drool over the Rx-8 R3 (only the r3)

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Nerd-Vol 01/31/2017 at 12:54

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One was “sport” the other was not, they were available at the same time.

Same thing happened with the 5, the Grand Touring lights were different than say the sport’s tail lights.

Textured Soy Protein > Nerd-Vol 01/31/2017 at 13:04

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The red ones were the base model, the more Altezza-fied ones were the higher trims.

ateamfan42 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/31/2017 at 13:57

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At least the European Mazda 6 MPS got the flush mounted tail lights. In North America, the Mazdaspeed 6 got the “bumps” on the light housings.

Though my least favorite part of the car rear was the way the bumper cover looks like the car is wearing a thong.

bob and john > ateamfan42 01/31/2017 at 15:23

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....can not fucking un-see that now, thanks

ateamfan42 > bob and john 01/31/2017 at 16:07

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I owned a MS6 for 11 years and saw it every time I looked at the back of my car. :)

Overall, it was a great car, but that had to be the worse bit of the exterior styling, IMO. Some people painted the black plastic exhaust surrounds body color, which could look okay.